Printers and related products, such as MFP's, have an architecture that defines the placement orientation of the unit relative to user access. For example, generally a printer is configured such that the most significant interactions, such as operation or setting selection via control panel or display and adding media to the input tray, faces what would be considered the front of the unit. Printers do not typically have a square footprint so the placement orientation, driven by primary user interfaces, determines which of the narrow or wide surfaces is the unit front. The aspect ratio is often an outcome of the paper path, its direction generally along the long axis. A narrow front with the paper path front to back, is often preferred for desks and limited table space. The wider orientation with a left-right paper path, is more flexible for auto document scanners and when equipping the unit with optional finishers (including, for example, sorting devices, collating devices, stapling devices, etc.) and high capacity input trays.
Most printers require access to multiple sides of the unit for maintenance, service and consumables replenishment, or other replaceable components that have limited life. The top and front surfaces are typically most important to satisfying user interfaces such as operation control and settings, retrieving printed output, replenishing input media and, for multi-function units, scanning and copying. Those primary interface requirements generally dictate how the product is placed on a desk or table, or how a standalone unit is oriented relative to typical access and user interaction space.
Solid ink printers often have a simplified paper path through the print engine. In most office size solid ink printers, media moves from the front to an output tray at the top-rear, as typically oriented. This front-back transport orientation may be termed North-South (N-S) and, in one exemplary embodiment, this also means media flow from one narrow end toward the other narrow end of an essentially rectangular product, regardless of viewing orientation. Rectangular product shape isn't a requirement of the present disclosure, however, and other product shapes are also possible. Standard media sizes are generally rectangular and functional areas of media trays and the typical A/A4 printing products are oriented so the short side is the leading edge in the feed path.
When such a printer is reconfigured as a multi-function printer (MFP), the copy scan module is routinely oriented left-right or East-West (E-W) for access purposes. When this module is placed above a N-S oriented print engine, the print engine is oriented with the narrow surface at the front while the copy module is oriented with the wide surface at the front. This results in a large projected footprint that is not ideal for stated orientation considerations.
A printer built with an E-W configuration matches the copy module orientation with common paper path flow direction and reduces the projected footprint but now requires placement in an E-W manner. The E-W printer configuration puts the wide side at the front and is not desk or space efficient in most applications. It should be appreciated that the depth of the unit is significantly less important on a desk since space behind the product is essentially unused. It has been found that transitioning the print engine design and resultant models from a N-S to E-W configuration has become desirable to emphasize MFP sales, but the orientation requirement is a compromise that has a negative effect on some customers, significantly, those that place a printer on a work station desk where width is limited.
Designing and building the described printer with an E-W architecture can be done by reconfiguring the enclosure, moving the controls and/or display panel and designing the paper tray to pull out from the wide side, now the front. This can be done while retaining the paper pick and transport system as it existed in the N-S product. A desirable feature of the E-W printer is complementary fitment with copy/scan modules and finishers. A drawback, however, is this new printer architecture generally forces an orientation that is incompatible with the narrow front many customers prefer, or are forced into for placement efficiency, on desks or limited space tables.